Common Core State Standards

The Common Core State Standards are educational standards created by two non-profit groups (the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association). Essentially, top K–12 education officials from all US states and territories represented the Council of Chief State School Officers, and the National Governors Association was the other.

The Common Core State Standards set math and English language arts learning goals at each grade level. They serve as benchmarks for what children from kindergarten through their senior year of high school should understand and be able to do in math and language arts.

Developed in 2010, 43 states have ratified the standards, which are used in public school classrooms across those jurisdictions. The standards are designed to increase academic competition in the US and prepare kids for college and careers and the real world after high school graduation.